Swedetown hosts Winter Trails Day

January 13, 2014

CALUMET - The Swedetown Trails in Calumet were filled with people exploring the loops Sunday, many for the first time.

The Swedetown Trails Club and Cross Country Sports of Calumet held the third annual Swedetown Winter Trails Day Sunday. Cross Country Sports provided first-come, first-serve snowshoe and ski rentals.

By about 2 p.m., about 50 people had stopped by the chalet for equipment, said Rick Oikarinen, owner of Cross Country Sports.

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Garrett Neese/Daily Mining GazetteJennifer Becker of Hancock looks at skate skis with Cross Country Sports owner Rick Oikarinen at the Swedetown Trails Sunday for its annual Winter Trails Day. About 50 people benefitted from free ski or snowshoe rentals by about 2 p.m.

"There's a lot of people who either wanted to ski at Swedetown and hadn't, or hadn't been to Swedetown in a long time ... the trails are a lot better than they used to be," he said.

Preparing to head out on the trails was Jennifer Beck of Hancock. An avid classic cross country skier, she was trying skate skis for the first time.

"This is a great way to try out skate skis to see if I wanted to make an investment in them, and it's a great way to go skiing and sledding with the kids," she said.

Michele Serafin of Hancock called up many of her friends to let them know about it. She'd also come to the previous two free days with her family.

"We tried them out, and then we all got a pair," she said. "We ski a lot."

Once people wrapped up, they could head back to the chalet for free hot chocolate and apple juice.

Erin Raymond, a Finlandia junior from Mackinaw City, Mich., and Kathleen Janowiecki, from Howell, Mich., were part of a six-person trip from Finlandia. (The other four had taken a longer route.)

"I've never done it before in my life and I wanted to try it," said Raymond, a residential assistant at Finlandia Hall. "It was really fun. I fell a lot. I'll definitely come back."